Shloka 14
Varṇa-lakṣaṇa and Ātma-saṃyama (Marks of Social Conduct and Self-Restraint) | वर्णलक्षणम् एवं आत्मसंयमः
सम्मान-अपमान, लाभ-हानि तथा उन्नति-अवनति--ये पूर्वजन्मके कर्मोके अनुसार बार-बार प्राप्त होते हैं और प्रारब्धभोगके पश्चात् निवृत्त हो जाते हैं ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | ātmanā vidhitaṃ duḥkham ātmanā vihitaṃ sukham | garbhaśayyām upādāya bhujyate paurvadehikam ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Karangalan–kahihiyan, pakinabang–pagkawala, pag-angat–pagbulusok: paulit-ulit na dumarating ang mga ito ayon sa mga gawa ng nakaraang buhay, at humuhupa kapag naubos na ang itinakdang bahagi ng tadhana. Ang pighati ay hinuhubog ng sariling sarili, at ang ligaya man ay hinuhubog din ng sariling sarili. Mula sa sandaling ang nilalang ay humimlay sa higaan ng sinapupunan ng ina, sinisimulan na niyang danasin ang bungang ligaya at pighating naipon mula sa dating katawan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that both suffering and happiness arise from one’s own actions (karma). The results of deeds from a prior embodiment begin to be experienced from conception onward, and they cease when the allotted (prārabdha) portion is fully undergone.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right understanding, Bhishma addresses the moral logic behind life’s reversals—honor/dishonor, gain/loss, rise/fall—explaining them as recurring outcomes of past actions rather than random events.